(June 1, 2017) Memorial Day is about taking time to remember “those that have lost their lives while serving on active duty defending the United States of America and the freedoms we hold near and dear to our heart,” Master Chief Petty Officer Timaree Sparks told the audience at the Memorial Day ceremony in Ocean Pines Monday.
Sparks, the officer in charge of the U.S. Coast Guard Station Ocean City and the keynote speaker at the gathering at the Worcester County Veterans Memorial, addressed those who do not believe “that the Coast Guard is a military service.”
“Not only is the Coast Guard one of the five military branches, but the Coast Guard has actively operated during several wars,” she said.
She shared a story of Coast Guard involvement during the Vietnam conflict.
During the early months of 1965, she said, the U.S. realized the coastline of Vietnam posed some unique challenges to its naval fleet.
Sparks said Coast Guard boats were called in, and on April 29, 1965 a Coast Guard squadron was formed to support the U.S. Navy. In total, 47 officers and 198 enlisted members staffed the vessels of the newly formed Squadron One.
Each crewmember received training in advance survival techniques, advanced weaponry, nuclear, chemical and biological warfare, advanced damage control, hand-to-hand combat and other combat techniques.
The crews met their patrol boats at the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, joined the Pacific fleet and sailed to Vietnam. They joined Task Force 71 and were divided into two divisions.
Coast Guard crews began boarding every ship moving through the area, including fishing boats, while reporting to a minesweeper or destroyer escort that patrolled the outer barrier. Within the first month, crews boarded more than 1,100 junks and sampans, and inspected more than 4,000 Vietnamese vessels.
The first recorded wartime action was Sept. 19, 1965. The Coast Guard Point Glover was nearly rammed by a 20-foot junk carrying five men. One was carrying several small guns and ammunition.
Later that day, the Point Marone attempted to inspect a 40-foot junk, but was fired upon. The Coast Guard unit returned fire and was able to capture the Vietnamese crew.
On Oct. 29, 1965, nine additional 80-foot patrol boats were called in. They departed on Dec. 1, 1965 and joined Division 13.
The Point White had only been in Vietnam for a month when it started conducting patrols along the Soi Rap River. The patrol boat spotted a junk crossing the river and tried to stop it, but was fired upon with automatic weapons. The Coast Guard boat rammed the junk, tossing its crew into the river. One captured survivor turned out to be a key Viet Cong leader.
Coast Guard units fought a significant naval engagement on May 10, 1966.
The crew of Point Grey sighted a suspicious 110-foot trawler while on patrol near the Ca Mau peninsula. The crew noticed signal fires on the beach nearby and attempted to hail the vessel, but the trawler ran aground and heavy automatic weapon fire from the beach wounded three Coast Guard crew.
The Point Cypress and U.S. Navy personnel were called to assist, and during an exchange of gunfire the trawler exploded. Salvage teams recovered a substantial amount of materials from the trawler and the incident was called the largest single infiltration attempt in more than a year.
In its first year of operations, Squadron One inspected 30,000 junks and boarded 35,000. They accounted for 75 Viet Cong killed, wounded or captured in action, along with hundreds of additional arrests.
The squadron confiscated more than 100 tons of weapons and supplies and took part in 35 naval gunfire support missions, Sparks said.
“Though the activities of the Coast Guard in Southeast Asia are relatively unknown, the Coast Guard played a significant role in that war,” Sparks said. “Over 8,000 Coast Guardsman serviced in Vietnam and 56 combat vessels were assigned to duty there. They not only participated in, but they were normally the primary unit in all trawler destructions.”
She said Coast Guard units boarded almost 250,000 junks and sampans during the conflict. Of the 56 boats used, 30 were eventually turned over to the Vietnamese people, and the Coast Guard “played a vital role in training the Vietnamese on how to use those vessels,” Sparks said.
“I’d ask you all to please keep your thoughts of those members who have lost their lives while serving our country,” she said. “They’ve not only left behind family and friends – they’ve left behind their memory.”
Sparks, the officer in charge of the U.S. Coast Guard Station Ocean City and the keynote speaker at the gathering at the Worcester County Veterans Memorial, addressed those who do not believe “that the Coast Guard is a military service.”
“Not only is the Coast Guard one of the five military branches, but the Coast Guard has actively operated during several wars,” she said.
She shared a story of Coast Guard involvement during the Vietnam conflict.
During the early months of 1965, she said, the U.S. realized the coastline of Vietnam posed some unique challenges to its naval fleet.
Sparks said Coast Guard boats were called in, and on April 29, 1965 a Coast Guard squadron was formed to support the U.S. Navy. In total, 47 officers and 198 enlisted members staffed the vessels of the newly formed Squadron One.
Each crewmember received training in advance survival techniques, advanced weaponry, nuclear, chemical and biological warfare, advanced damage control, hand-to-hand combat and other combat techniques.
The crews met their patrol boats at the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, joined the Pacific fleet and sailed to Vietnam. They joined Task Force 71 and were divided into two divisions.
Coast Guard crews began boarding every ship moving through the area, including fishing boats, while reporting to a minesweeper or destroyer escort that patrolled the outer barrier. Within the first month, crews boarded more than 1,100 junks and sampans, and inspected more than 4,000 Vietnamese vessels.
The first recorded wartime action was Sept. 19, 1965. The Coast Guard Point Glover was nearly rammed by a 20-foot junk carrying five men. One was carrying several small guns and ammunition.
Later that day, the Point Marone attempted to inspect a 40-foot junk, but was fired upon. The Coast Guard unit returned fire and was able to capture the Vietnamese crew.
On Oct. 29, 1965, nine additional 80-foot patrol boats were called in. They departed on Dec. 1, 1965 and joined Division 13.
The Point White had only been in Vietnam for a month when it started conducting patrols along the Soi Rap River. The patrol boat spotted a junk crossing the river and tried to stop it, but was fired upon with automatic weapons. The Coast Guard boat rammed the junk, tossing its crew into the river. One captured survivor turned out to be a key Viet Cong leader.
Coast Guard units fought a significant naval engagement on May 10, 1966.
The crew of Point Grey sighted a suspicious 110-foot trawler while on patrol near the Ca Mau peninsula. The crew noticed signal fires on the beach nearby and attempted to hail the vessel, but the trawler ran aground and heavy automatic weapon fire from the beach wounded three Coast Guard crew.
The Point Cypress and U.S. Navy personnel were called to assist, and during an exchange of gunfire the trawler exploded. Salvage teams recovered a substantial amount of materials from the trawler and the incident was called the largest single infiltration attempt in more than a year.
In its first year of operations, Squadron One inspected 30,000 junks and boarded 35,000. They accounted for 75 Viet Cong killed, wounded or captured in action, along with hundreds of additional arrests.
The squadron confiscated more than 100 tons of weapons and supplies and took part in 35 naval gunfire support missions, Sparks said.
“Though the activities of the Coast Guard in Southeast Asia are relatively unknown, the Coast Guard played a significant role in that war,” Sparks said. “Over 8,000 Coast Guardsman serviced in Vietnam and 56 combat vessels were assigned to duty there. They not only participated in, but they were normally the primary unit in all trawler destructions.”
She said Coast Guard units boarded almost 250,000 junks and sampans during the conflict. Of the 56 boats used, 30 were eventually turned over to the Vietnamese people, and the Coast Guard “played a vital role in training the Vietnamese on how to use those vessels,” Sparks said.
“I’d ask you all to please keep your thoughts of those members who have lost their lives while serving our country,” she said. “They’ve not only left behind family and friends – they’ve left behind their memory.”